


Taking Time Part: 1

by The_Word_Witch



Series: Taking Time [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Thor Odinson - Fandom, Tony Stark - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Emotions, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Other, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Smut, The Avengers - Freeform, Thor Feels, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 03:15:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16255538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Word_Witch/pseuds/The_Word_Witch
Summary: For years you and Thor have had a tumultuous relationship, to say the least. After the snap, you meet up with what’s left of The Avengers at the compound to not only figure out where the hell your brother, Tony, is but also to lick your wounds. Thor is among them and the two of you finally take the time for one another because if you’ve learned nothing from this nightmare it’s that tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.





	Taking Time Part: 1

Slowly everyone started to scream. The sound rose, at first harmonizing before falling into a cacophony. Your own scream was right there, lodged in the back of your throat, refusing to come out and join the chorus. One by one your staff turned to ash around you. Panic.

Outside the windows, Los Angeles was falling apart. The street was blocked with cars and bodies, smoke already rising from the wrecks. People ran en masse out of the office buildings, filling the sidewalks with seas of crazed citizens. Chaos.

“Stop!” you bellow to the ten people running for the doors as you activate the panic switch in your Stark smartwatch. “If you go out there you’ll be caught in that madness, it’s not safe.” The mechanical sounds of doors being sealed echo. Another touch overrides the standard emergency alert message and you address the building.

“Attention this is Y/N Stark: The Stark Foundation Tower is on full lockdown. We have not received word as to what is happening. Please, remain calm and care for the people around you as best you can. If anyone is in need of medical attention send them to the top floor and I will see to them. We will share information as soon as it becomes available. Thank you.”

Your eyes fall to your assistant’s desk, ashes dust the region from where she fell. Without another word, you slam the door of your office and activate the privacy filter on the windows.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., what in the actual fuck is going on?!”

“I don’t know, Ma’am,” the AI’s lilting Irish voice responds. “It seems to be a global event.”

“Christ,” you swallow the scream again. “Get, Tony.”

“I can’t.”

“Excuse me?”

“Mr. Stark cannot be reached, Ma’am.”

“Override whatever bullshit reason he has for not being reached and get my brother on the line F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Ma’am, Mr. Stark is not currently on Earth. I am unable to reach him.”

For a second your vision blurs, “Repeat that F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Mr. Stark is not currently on the planet Earth. I am unsure of his whereabouts.”

“Is he-“ bile rises. He can’t be.

“No, Ma’am,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. responds, “Not to my knowledge. He was pursuing an alien assailant a day ago, prior to this event, and left the atmosphere.”

“Christ, Tony.” You collapse into your chair. “Where’s Pepper?”

“I have lost all signs of Ms. Potts.”

Now you can’t help it, you lunge for the trash can beside your desk and vomit, “Ha… Happy…”

“I have lost all signs of Mr. Hogan.”

You sit on the floor, lean against your desk, draw your knees up, resting your forehead on them. Suddenly you’re 10 again except even Tony is… “F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Yes, Ma’am?”

“Please tell me Rhodey is ok.”

“Sargent Rhodes is showing strong vital signs.”

“Thank fuck. Can you reach him?”

“I will try Ma’am. He is currently in the nation of Wakanda.” What the hell was Rhodey doing in Africa?

“Y/N!” Rhodey’s familiar voice bellows over the comm and you flick his image before you, “Are you ok?!”

“Relatively speaking,” the building has gone eerily quiet. “Where the fuck is my brother Rhodes?!” Rhodey’s face tells you all you need to know. “Fuck,” your head falls back and hits the desk with a thud.

“Where are you?” Rhodey’s tone is full of concern.

“The Foundation offices in L.A.” You look back to his image, “What’s happening?”

“It’s too much to explain. Pepper?” You can only shake your head, “Christ.”

“Why are you in Africa?”

“Again, long story.”

Then you see him behind Rhodey. His hair is short and he looks haggard but you’d recognize him in any condition, Thor.

“Y/N,” his voice is small. “You’re…”

“Alive,” you finish. It’s about all that matters at this moment you imagine.

He nods, “We shall come for you, immediately.”

“Hold up,” the image shifts as Rhodey’s hands rise in protest. “We don’t know what we are going to do just-“

“You can do as you wish but I’m going to go get her now!” This bellows.

Rhodey’s tone is calm, “Now is not the tim-“

“Not the time!?” You swear you hear thunder crack in the background.

“Can you two shut the fuck up!” You yell into the comm. They do and suddenly they’re both back in focus. “Thank you.” Massaging the bridge of your nose you continue. “I am not some damsel for you to come rescue, Thor, I know your intentions are good but Rhodey’s right now isn’t the time. I need to make sure what’s left of my staff is ok and try to get them back with their families…” If they had any left, “Contact me as soon as you know the plan, Rhodey.”

“Will do, kid,” Rhodey says with a stern nod.

“Thor… I’m glad your here,” he doesn’t respond, just skulks off. You’re about to end the transmission when Rhodey pipes up.

“And, Y/N,” his tone is somber, “use the suit.”

[[MORE]]

[Six months before the snap.]

_Tony’s image pops up over your desk without warning, startling you. He's lounging back in an office chair eating an apple. “How’d you like your birthday present?”_

_You roll your eyes, “The Porsche is lovely Tony, but kind of unnecessary. Now if you don’t mind,” you raise your hand to end his intrusive call._

_“Porsche? Oh, Pepper must have done that. How coudl she think I’d forget my favorite sister’s birthday.” Your annoyance is peaking. You were 37, not 17 (one of the many birthdays he did, in fact, forget if your memory serves, and it unfailingly does), and you had work to do._

_“Tony, unlike you I like to do productive things with my time, wha-“_

_“I’m productive,” he sits up in his chair._

_“You’re retired, what? At least twice over and you tinker on overpriced hobbies.”_

_“That cuts deep, sis.”_

_“I’m sure.” Suddenly your door flings open and one of Tony’s drones is hovering in your office._

_Jade, your assistant, is behind it staring in horror, “I’m so sorry Ms. Stark! I did-“_

_“It’s fine, Jade, not your fault. And, please, call me Y/N.”_

_“Yes. Ok, sorry Ms… I mean, Y/N,” with that she closes the door and the drone gently places what looks like a watch box on your desk._

_“She’s new.”_

_“She’s young and you’re engaged are you not?”_

_“I only said she was new,” Tony retorts._

_“Mhm,” you roll your eyes and pick up the box. “This is a little elaborate for a watch, Ton.” Though the biometric scanner on top tells you this is something else._

_“Just open it, Y/N.”_

_You do. Inside are a Stark smartwatch and a matching bangle. Both appear to be rose gold, a trend you’re begrudgingly loving, and you have to admit they are rather gorgeous. “Oh,” you lift the watch, “My current one is working perfectly, Tony.” You still slip off the old one and attach the new one to your wrist._

_“Put the bracelet on your right.” Tony is staring intently and you’re sure he’s up to something._

_You do, “Ok…” you’re nervous._

_“Show her F.R.I.D.A.Y.”_

_There’s a zinging and suddenly tiny rose gold and matte grey scales are sliding up your arms. In seconds you’re engulfed in armor, the helmet snapping over your head before you can protest._

_“Voila!” Tony exclaims, his smug tone ringing inside your helmet. The screen clears and you can see his image, still hovering over your desk._

_“Really, Tony?” You don’t even attempt to hide how annoyed you are. “We talked about this.”_

_“No, you, talked, Y/N. I simply pretended to listen.”_

_You sigh, “I don’t need this.” The helmet retracts, seemingly reading your thoughts._

_“Neat huh?” Your brother looks like a proud child and not a man pushing 50._

_“Yeah, sure, it’s neat.” The suit continues to retract. “But again-“_

_“Just wear the fucking set, please,” a shadow flits across his eyes._

_Your eyes narrow, “Tony…”_

_“I… I just like the thought that you’re protected. You didn’t like any of the other styles so I’ve been working on this nanotech so you can have something… unobtrusive.” He shoots from his chair and paces. You know better than to interrupt and cross your arms waiting for him to find his way to the real point._

_Finally, he makes his way back to his seat and slumps into it. “Ever since Pep and I got engaged I’ve been thinking about family… Actually since…” You knew where he was going. Since the situation with The Accords, since you two had it out over his stance on The Winter Soldier, since you told him he was wrong. You two had hardly spoken._

_Your eyes meet through the camera. He looks like that lost 21 year old suddenly. The one who not only lost his parents but had to become one in the course of a night. “I know I haven’t always done right by you, Y/N. I know I was never… what you needed me to be-“_

_“Tony-“_

_“Let me talk,” he holds up a hand. “And after the last few years, all this chaos… I just I know what’s important and I need to protect it.”_

_“I appreciate that,” and you do but… “How, exactly, does this help?” You hold up your wrists. Your brother, though you loved him, had a tendency of throwing money at his problems rather than actually dealing with them. Once again, this felt like that._

_He smiles a bit, “Now we can meet up whenever we want, screw waiting on planes!” Your eyes roll and your head falls into your hands and you groan. “I’ll sleep better at night knowing you can protect yourself against almost anything.” You look up at your brother. “Hopefully, you never have to use it… but please… for me…”_

_“Fine,” you sigh. “At least you got the color right.”_

_“Actually that was me,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. chimes in._

_You both laugh. “Plus I can’t let you watch my future spawn if you don’t have your own suit. Ok, love ya sis byeeee!” And with that, he rings off._

_“F.R.I.D.A.Y. is Pepper pregnant?!”_

_“No, Ma’am.”_

_You shake your head, your brother was ridiculous._

[Present day.]

Your finger runs along the band of the watch. “F.R.I.D.A.Y. how many Stark Foundation employees are left in the building?”

“Fourteen, Ma’am.”

“Are they all on this floor?”

“Yes.”

“Is there any news on what’s happened?”

“No Ma’am.”

“Ok,” you sigh and pick yourself off the floor. There was no sense in sitting here. People needed help. Your people needed help. The rest you’d sort later.

The next three days speed by in a blur. Every single one of your remaining employees had lost someone dear to them, it was terrible but you’d managed to get them to their homes safe and ensured them they would continue to be provided for indefinitely.

The bottom floors of the tower you owned in downtown L.A. were being used as temporary housing. People were flooding into the metro areas as some towns had lost half or more of their population and couldn’t function. Five of your employees had offered to run the shelter. You’d only used the suit once, even then it was just to clear some of the immobilized cars from the roads so service vehicles could pass.  

Finally, the call from Rhodey came, “How’re you holding up kid?”

This endearment used to rankle but now that 40 was fast approaching you kind of liked it, “Ok. Have you heard from him?” You hate how your voice rose, hate how desperate it sounds.

“No, Y/N… I’m sorry…” you both stay silent for a minute, knowing that this may mean you never will. “We’re heading to the compound. Can you meet us there?”

Clearing your throat, “Yeah.”

“See ya soon, kid.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y. think you can help me get this thing to the compound?” You’d flown short distances in some of Tony’s other suits but never this one and never so far.

“Of course, Ma’am.” The suit wound its way across your body, “Whenever you’re ready.”

There wasn’t any point in packing. You had clothes at the compound and you could get whatever you needed later. Strolling out to your penthouse balcony you take a breath, “Let’s go.” With that, your helmet covers your face and you’re off.

It only takes you about three hours to get to the compound. This included a stop atop the Rocky mountains just because you could. The sun is just beginning to set as your feet touch the ground.

“No one is here yet, Ma’am, and the rest of the staff was sent away per protocol” F.R.I.D.A.Y. informs you thought you already assumed as much, “All is secure.”

“Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y.” The suit slides back into its housing, “Can you have all the schematics for the nanotech up in Tony’s lab? I want to look at it later.”

“Of course, Ma’am.” Everyone knew Tony as the tech genius and you were the philanthropist but you’d also gone to M.I.T. and knew your way around advanced technology like any self respecting member of the Stark family.

“Oh, and F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Since we’re going to be chatting more can you please call me, Y/N?”

“You got it, Y/N.”

“Thanks.”

The silence in the well lit common space is oppressive. You run your hand along the back of the couch and your mind wanders back to the last time you were here. After your brother had returned home from his fight with Steve.

Tony had been adamant that he was in the right.

[Flashback: Just after Tony returns from Russia.]

_“He. Fucking. Killed. Them. Y/N!” He’d screamed in your face._

_“From what I’ve heard he wasn’t given a choice, Tony! You can’t kill someone over-“_

_“I didn’t!”_

_“No, you said you wanted to. And like a petulant child you just couldn’t reel in your fucking emotions and look at the situation with a level head!” He’d been silent for a few minutes._

_“Fuck it. Here,” with a flick of his hand, the TV lit up with a grainy video feed._

_A car, a crash. Every part of you wanted to look away knowing somehow what this was._

_Your mother’s voice crying out, “Howard!”_

_“Fuck you, Tony.”_

_“Still think he deserved mercy?”_

_“Fuck. You. Tony,” you turn to leave and he grabs your arm._

_A gunshot echoes, “Still think I’m a petulant child?!”_

_You rip your arm from him and growl, “Yes.”_

_“Wow,” he released you. “I mean really… just wow.” He points to the screen, “Our fucking parents, and you think the man who killed them is just some innocent lamb. I thought you’d-”_

_You pick up the vase next to you and hurl it at the TV before the video loops, the screen splinters. He stares at you, unfazed. “If you say ‘be happy’ I swear to fuck I will never speak to you again.” You’re shaking, “Killing him wouldn’t have brought them back. It wouldn’t have made anything better. But maybe if you had taken a few seconds to think about someone else’s emotional well being you could have saved your friendship, saved your team!”_

_You take a few steps away trying to calm down and failing. “But no!” You’re screaming at this point, “You can never look past your own fucking pain can you?!”_

_“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?!”_

_Tears prick the back of your eyes, “I was TEN, Tony! That night you just so lovingly showed me? Ten fucking years old. You had 21 years with them, a whole childhood! I had ten fucking years. Then all I was left with was you and Jarvis, he was gone two years later and what do you do?! You send me off to boarding school because I was in the way of your good fucking time!”_

_Your whole body is shaking, “I can count on both hands the number of times we’ve talked about them in 25 years, Tony. Because you couldn’t dare to feel some pain on my account because I can’t remember them like you can.” The tears finally spill over, silent and almost as hot at your rage, “I can hardly remember what her voice sounds like most days so thanks so fucking much for making me hear that you selfish piece of shit.” You wipe your tears. “Fucking rot alone with your fancy suits for all I care. I’m out.”_

[Present Day]

The memory makes you shake. It took almost a year for Tony to speak to you. He had never fully conceded that you were right, that if he had thought things through maybe that terrible situation could have ended better. He had, however, admitted he regretted the way he handled things with you, how you’d grown up. He had been trying to make more of an effort. He had apologized for showing you the video.

Now… if he was gone. The thought takes the wind from you and you collapse into one of the armchairs. If he was gone, you had spent the last two years in flux because neither of you could keep your emotions in check.

 _Money,_ you thought, _can buy happiness but it sure as shit can’t buy emotional stability._

“F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“Yes, Y/N?”

“Can you tell me how far out they are?”

“Two hours.” Perfect. Enough time for a shower.

You’re wrapping your long brown hair in a towel when F.R.I.D.A.Y. pops up, “The Quinjet is 10 minutes from landing.”

Not caring you toss your hair into a messy bun, slip into one of your brother's tees and a pair of skinny jeans. The watch and bracelet hadn’t left your wrists.

You hadn’t thought to ask Rhodey who all was coming, who had made it… You guessed you’d find out soon enough as you make your way to the landing pad.

The jet settles and the bay door opens. Rhodey rushes out and crushes you in a hug. You don’t fight him. James Rhodes had been like family for most of your life. And as it stood he was the only family you had left. Tears pricked at the back of your eyes but you refused to let them fall.

He holds you at arm’s length, his own eyes glassy, “I’m so glad you’re ok, kid.”

You rub his graying hair, “I’m glad you’re ok too old man.” He chuckles and you look past him fully expecting to see Thor. Instead, “Banner?!”

“Hey, yeah,” Bruce waves awkwardly.

Nat smiles at you, “Thor isn’t here.”

“I’m happy to see you too ya know,” and the two of you embrace.

“He said he was taking the long way, whatever the hell that means.” You look around for the source of the unfamiliar voice. Someone clears their throat and you look down.

For a second you just stare. “… is the emotional trauma and decades of substance abuse finally catching up with me…”

“Not yet,” Rhodey answers.

“But if you’ve got any additional substances to abuse laying around I could use some,” the fucking talking raccoon says.

“His name is, Rocket,” Steve says stepping down.

“Good to meet you,” you nod, suddenly not worried about the fact that everyone is acting like this is a totally normal thing. “Steve,” you smile, genuinely happy to see your friend.

“Y/N,” he draws you into a hug. The look you both exchange says you know that a long conversation will happen later.

There’s a crack of thunder. A flash. And with all the subtlety of a crashing freight train, Thor lands just outside the concrete pad. For a moment you’re genuinely annoyed at both his overdramatic choice of entry and your heart for rising into your throat at seeing him.

His eyes meet yours. They're so sad, and tired, his shoulders slump. Suddenly you know something is terribly wrong. All social niceties are thrown to the wind, you rush him. He meets you half way and lifts you into his arms burying his face in your neck.

He trembles against you and you realize he’s softly crying, “Thor?”

He looks at you, eyes blue pools, “I thought I’d lost everything. But here you are.”

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based on a tumblr reader request:
> 
> "Could you do a Thor request where the reader is Tony’s sister and Thor and her always had feelings for each other but timing was never right and right after Infinity Wars, everyone goes to regroup and rest, she and Thor find comfort in each other since she doesn’t know where Tony is and he’s lost everyone he love (but her)?"
> 
> I didn't think I would get so into this but here we are.


End file.
